Long-term quality of VKA treatment and clinical outcome after extreme overanticoagulation in 14,777 AF and VTE patients

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (04) ◽  
pp. 881-890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nic J. G. M. Veeger ◽  
Nakisa Khorsand ◽  
Hanneke C. Kluin-Nelemans ◽  
Hilde A. M. Kooistra ◽  
Karina Meijer ◽  
...  

SummaryVitamin K antagonists (VKA) are widely used in atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism (VTE). Their efficacy and safety depend on individual time in the therapeutic range (iTTR). Due to the variable dose-response relationship within patients, also patients with initially stable VKA treatment may develop extreme overanticoagulation (EO). EO is associated with an immediate bleeding risk, but it is unknown whether VKA treatment will subsequently restabilise. We evaluated long-term quality of VKA treatment and clinical outcome after EO. EO was defined as international normalized ratio (INR) ≥ 8.0 and/or unscheduled vitamin K supplementation. We included a consecutive cohort of initially stable atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism patients. In EO patients, the 90 days pre- and post-period were compared. In addition, patients with EO were compared with patients without EO using a matched 1:2 cohort. Of 14,777 initially stable patients, 800 patients developed EO. The pre-period was characterised by frequent overanticoagulation, and half of EO patients had an inadequate iTTR (< 65 %). After EO, underanticoagulation became more prevalent. Although the mean time between INR-measurements decreased from 18.6 to 13.2 days, after EO inadequate iTTR became more frequent (62 %), p-value < 0.001. A 2.3 times (95 % confidence interval [CI] 2.0–2.5) higher risk for iTTR< 65 % after EO, was accompanied by increased risk of bleeding (hazard ratio [HR] 2.1;CI 1.4–3.2), VKA-related death 17.0 (HR 17.0;CI 2.1–138) and thrombosis (HR 5.7;CI 1.5–22.2), compared to the 1600 controls. In conclusion, patients continuing VKA after EO have long-lasting inferior quality of VKA treatment despite intensified INR-monitoring, and an increased risk of bleeding, thrombosis and VKA-related death.Note: There have been no previous presentations, reports or publications of the complete data that appear in the article. Parts of the data in this article have been presented as a poster at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) congress 2013, New Orleans, United States.

2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (04) ◽  
pp. 249-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. F. Luscher ◽  
J. Steffel

SummaryFor the last decades, anticoagulation for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF) as well as for the prophylaxis and long-term treatment of venous thromboembolism has been entirely based on vitamin K antagonists (VKA). Although very effective under optimal conditions, long-term treatment with these drugs is flawed by the fact that the time in the therapeutic range frequently is suboptimal due to biological factors, drug interactions and compliance.The direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran, as well as the direct FXa inhibitors rivaroxaban and apixaban provide more consistent anticoagulation and have proven their efficacy and safety against VKAs in several large scale randomized clinical trials for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation as well as for the treatment and prevention of venous thromboembolism. In view of these convincing data and other advantages such as the lack of mandatory monitoring and only few drug interactions,VKAs will most likely be replaced in a majority of patients for these indications. Based on the most recent trial evidence, the current review discusses the role of VKA treatmentand that of the novel anticoagulants.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Carlos Estevez-Fraga ◽  
Maria Molina-Sanchez ◽  
Rodrigo Alvarez-Velasco ◽  
Pablo Agüero-Rabes ◽  
Leticia Crespo-Araico ◽  
...  

Introduction. Patients treated with vitamin K antagonists (VKA) are at increased risk of intracranial haemorrhage (ICH). The purpose of our study was to determine the quality of previous anticoagulation control in patients with VKA-associated ICH. Materials and Methods. We prospectively assessed every consecutive patient admitted to our stroke unit with VKA-associated ICH between 2013 and 2016. Demographic, clinical, and radiological variables, as well as consecutive international normalized ratios (INR) during 7 previous months, were extracted. Time in therapeutic range (TTR), time over range (TOR), time below range (TBR), and percentage of INR within range (PINRR) were calculated. Results and Discussion. The study population comprised 53 patients. Mean age was 79 years; 42% were women. Forty-eight patients had atrial fibrillation (AF) and 5 mechanical prosthetic valves. Therapeutic or infratherapeutic INR on arrival was detected in 64.4% of patients (95% CI 2.7 to 3.2). TTR was 67.8% (95% CI: 60.2 to 75.6 %) and PINRR was 75% (95% CI: 49.9-100). TOR was 17.2% (95% CI: 10.4 to 23.9% ) and TBR was 17% (95% CI: 10.6 to 23.9%). Conclusion. VKA-associated ICH happens usually in the context of good chronic anticoagulation control. Newer risk assessment methods are required.


2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (01) ◽  
pp. 185-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Cheng Wang ◽  
Cheng-Li Lin ◽  
Guei-Jane Wang ◽  
Chiz-Tzung Chang ◽  
Fung-Chang Sung ◽  
...  

SummaryWhether atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains controversial. From Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000 (LHID2000), we identified 11,458 patients newly diagnosed with AF. The comparison group comprised 45,637 patients without AF. Both cohorts were followed up to measure the incidence of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Univariable and multivariable competing-risks regression model and Kaplan-Meier analyses with the use of Aelon-Johansen estimator were used to measure the differences of cumulative incidences of DVT and PE, respectively. The overall incidence rates (per 1,000 person-years) of DVT and PE between the AF group and non-AF groups were 2.69 vs 1.12 (crude hazard ratio [HR] = 1.92; 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 1.54-2.39), 1.55 vs 0.46 (crude HR = 2.68; 95 % CI = 1.97-3.64), respectively. The baseline demographics indicated that the members of the AF group demonstrated a significantly older age and higher proportions of comorbidities than non-AF group. After adjusting for age, sex, and comorbidities, the risks of DVT and PE remained significantly elevated in the AF group compared with the non-AF group (adjusted HR = 1.74; 95 %CI = 1.36-2.24, adjusted HR = 2.18; 95 %CI = 1.51-3.15, respectively). The Kaplan-Meier curve with the use of Aelon-Johansen estimator indicated that the cumulative incidences of DVT and PE were both more significantly elevated in the AF group than in the non-AF group after a long-term follow-up period (p<0.01). In conclusion, the presence of AF is associated with increased risk of VTE after a long-term follow-up period.


2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 269-272
Author(s):  
Anna Szczepańska-Szerej ◽  
Magdalena Wojtan ◽  
Beata Szajnoga

Abstract It is estimated that nearly 20% of all cerebral infarctions in the total population are the result of a complication of atrial fibrillation (AF). While oral anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists (AVKs) substantially reduces this risk, this requires regular monitoring of the international normalized ratio (INR) in order to achieve therapeutic levels (2,0-3,0). The aim of this study was to evaluate a group at high risk of cerebral infarction, among patients with AF undergoing long-term treatment with VKAs, taking into account the significance of therapeutic INR values. The analysed group consisted of 90 acute ischaemic stroke patients with paroxysmal or chronic “non-valvular” AF, receiving treatment with VKAs. As a result of the study, therapeutic INR values (≥ 2) were seen in thirty-five of these individuals (38,8%), while 55 (61,2%) showed non-therapeutic INR values. Moreover, there were no differences in demographics, vascular risk factors, biochemical and morphological blood parameters, mean CHA2DS2-VASc score and TOAST classification between either of the two groups. Furthermore, no additional factor that would increase their risk of cerebral infarction during the adequate treatment with VKAs was found. However, patients with non-therapeutic INR values had a statistically significantly higher frequency of concomitant moderate pathology of the bicuspid valve, p<0.05. Hence, a lack of proper control of INR can proved to be particularly dangerous for this subgroup of patients. Hence, this is a group with an elevated risk of cerebral infarction and therefore requires special oversight of VKA treatment or NOA treatment.


Author(s):  
Ziad Hijazi ◽  
John H. Alexander ◽  
Zhuokai Li ◽  
Daniel M. Wojdyla ◽  
Roxana Mehran ◽  
...  

Background: In the AUGUSTUS trial, apixaban resulted in less bleeding and fewer hospitalizations than vitamin K antagonists (VKA), and aspirin caused more bleeding than placebo in patients with atrial fibrillation and acute coronary syndrome or percutaneous coronary intervention treated with a P2Y 12 inhibitor. We evaluated the risk-benefit balance of antithrombotic therapy according to kidney function. Methods: In 4456 patients, the CKD-EPI formula was used to calculate baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). The effect of apixaban vs. VKA and aspirin vs. placebo was assessed across kidney function categories using Cox models. The primary outcome was ISTH major or clinically relevant non-major bleeding. Secondary outcomes included death or hospitalization and ischemic events (death, stroke, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis [definite or probable], or urgent revascularization). Creatinine clearance below 30 mL/min was an exclusion criterion in the AUGUSTUS trial. Results: Overall, 30%, 52%, and 19% had an eGFR of >80, >50 to 80, and 30-50 mL/min/1.73m 2 , respectively. During 6-months follow-up a total of 543 primary outcomes of bleeding, 1125 death or hospitalizations, and 282 ischemic events occurred. Compared with VKA, patients assigned apixaban had lower rates for all 3 outcomes across most eGFR categories without significant interaction. The absolute risk reduction with apixaban was most pronounced in those with an eGFR of 30-50 mL/min/1.73m 2 for bleeding events with rates of 13.1% vs. 21.3%; HR (95% CI) 0.59 (0.41-0.84). Patients assigned aspirin had a higher risk of bleeding in all eGFR categories with an even greater increase among those with eGFR >80 mL/min/1.73m 2 : 16.6% vs. 5.6%; HR 3.22 (2.19-4.74); p for interaction=0.007). The risk of death or hospitalization and ischemic events were comparable with aspirin and placebo across eGFR categories with HR ranging from 0.97 (0.76-1.23) to 1.28 (1.02-1.59) and from 0.75 (0.48-1.17) to 1.34 (0.81-2.22), respectively. Conclusions: The safety and efficacy of apixaban was consistent irrespective of kidney function, as compared with warfarin, and in accordance with the overall trial results. The risk of bleeding with aspirin was consistently higher across all kidney function categories. Clinical Trial Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov Unique Identifier: NCT02415400


2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (11) ◽  
pp. 2528-2534
Author(s):  
Dagmara Wojtowicz ◽  
Anna Tomaszuk-Kazberuk ◽  
Jolanta Małyszko ◽  
Marek Koziński

Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are currently recommended for oral anticoagulation in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. In the setting, NOACs effectively prevent from stroke and systemic embolic events. In spite of the favorable safety profile of NOACs when compared with vitamin K antagonists, the use of any kind of anticoagulation is associated with an increased risk of bleeding. However, there is still a lack of direct comparisons of effectiveness and safety among NOACs. The results of indirect comparisons and meta-analyses suggest that the risk of various types of hemorrhagic complications differ among the particular NOACs. Management of bleeding in patients under NOAC therapy can be challenging because of limited availability of antidotes and the lack of routine laboratory test monitoring the NOAC anticoagulant effect. In case of life-threatening or critical site bleeding, reversal of NOAC anticoagulant activity is essential together with immediate implementation of causative treatment. Moreover, some patients on chronic NOAC therapy may require urgent surgery or invasive procedures. Specific reversal agents for NOACs have been developed, i.e. more widely available idarucizumab for the factor IIa inhibitor (dabigatran) and andexanet alfa for the factor Xa inhibitors (rivaroxaban, apixaban, edoxaban) with limited availability. This review summarizes the occurrence and management of NOAC-related bleeding complications with a particular emphasis on hematuria.


2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (01) ◽  
pp. 37-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Bode ◽  
M. Moser

SummaryAtrial fibrillation is one of the most frequent reasons for therapeutic anticoagulation in everyday practice. Oral vitamin K antagonists such as Marcumar have been state of the art anticoagulants to prevent thrombembolic events in patients with atrial fibrillation and additional risk factors. But these drugs are accompanied by disadvantages such as increased bleeding risk and impaired quality of life caused by interactions with food or other medications as well as frequent controls of INRs.The new anticoagulants apixaban, rivaroxaban and dabigatran are direct antagonists of coagulation factors (FXa or FIIa) and demonstrate a promising risk/benefit profile in large clinical trials compared with vitamin K antagonists.Their approval for clinical use will open up new therapeutic perspectives for patients with atrial fibrillation and indication for anticoagulation.


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